Two GOP Texas House members call for Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign
Reps. Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth, who are usually ideologically aligned with Slaton, said the lawmaker needed to step down. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, on the House floor during a session at the state Capitol on April 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
How Republicans’ threats to tenure and diversity might undercut their own efforts to advance Texas’ universities
Texas lawmakers are poised to create a new multibillion-dollar endowment to boost emerging research universities in national rankings. But faculty members say banning diversity offices and tenure would stymie those efforts. Full Story
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![Nearly 40 protestors with Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion join in chants against HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, at the State Capitol rotunda on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Complaint alleges Rep. Bryan Slaton had “inappropriate relationship” with an intern
The complaint came after an incident in which Slaton and the staffer allegedly met up at his Austin apartment last weekend. A separate staffer told The Texas Tribune that Slaton drank alcohol with an intern under 21 years old. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, waits to speak from the back podium on the House floor on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott backs call for pardon for Daniel Perry, who killed Austin protester in 2020
The governor says he asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite review, recommend clemency one day after Perry was convicted of murder. Full Story
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![Daniel Perry is escorted to the 147th District Courtroom at the Travis County Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Complex in Austin on March 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Federal judge in Texas suspends FDA approval of abortion pill
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo could potentially upend access to medication abortion nationwide. Full Story
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![Mifeprex, a drug that is used to end an early pregnancy, at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
After House vote signaling opposition to school choice, Gov. Greg Abbott says the fight isn’t over
The House voted 86-52 on Thursday to amend the budget to ban state funding for “school vouchers or other similar programs.” Abbott has spent the past two months touring the state to build support for the proposal, spending tremendous political capital on trying to break through the rural Republican opposition to it. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Parent Empowerment Night at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi on Jan. 31, 2023 to discuss parent empowerment and choice in their child's education.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Is the school choice bill dead in the Texas House?
In this week’s episode, we discuss whether the House’s recent vote to ban school vouchers means a top Gov. Greg Abbott priority is doomed. Full Story
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![Students sit in art class at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 29, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raises
After a marathon debate, the bill will head to the Senate, where lawmakers have been crafting their own version of the spending plan. Full Story
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![State Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, rushes to the front of the House floor during budget discussions at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas billionaire Harlan Crow treated Justice Clarence Thomas to luxury trips that weren’t disclosed
Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Associate Justice Clarence Thomas during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Eric Lee/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect -
Former elections chief Chris Hollins drops bid for Houston mayor
Facing a crowded field, Hollins, who served briefly as Harris County clerk in 2020, announced Thursday he will instead run to be Houston’s chief financial officer. Full Story
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![Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins at election headquarters inside the NRG Arena on Oct. 5, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Sen. Kelly Hancock opens up about rare kidney disease, as he advocates for Texas bill to increase living organ donors
Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, was diagnosed at age 27 with a rare genetic kidney disease that occurs when the immunoglobulin A antibody builds up in the kidneys. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, reads his resolution that would have the Texas Legislation recognize March 9 as World Kidney Day, on the Senate floor at the state Capitol in Austin on March 14, 2023. As a young adult, Sen. Hancock was diagnosed with a rare genetic kidney disease and received a live kidney donation in July of 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves education savings account bill — but House signals a tough road ahead
A Texas House vote earlier in the day suggests Senate Bill 8 might be short of the votes needed to pass in the lower chamber. Senators also passed a bill on Thursday that would give teachers a one-time bonus. Full Story
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![Elementary students learn about amphibians at REACH Homeschool Co-op in Clear Lake, TX on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Budget day in the House: Texas lawmakers keep anti-DEI proposal
House Bill 1 is being debated on the floor of the lower chamber, where representatives are hammering out details on the next two years of state spending. Full Story
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![Lawmakers gather around House Parliamentarian Sharon Carter during budget discussions on the House floor of the state Capitol in Austin on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Bills aimed at adding more natural gas power to Texas grid clear Senate
Critics say the bills could lead to untold billions in added costs to customers and minimal benefits while ignoring needed efforts to reduce electricity demand. Full Story
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![Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant opened its doors to media on October 15, 2021 to show the plant’s weatherization process. Energy providers like Vistra are preparing their plants for extreme weather conditions following the February winter storm Uri, which disrupted the Texas electric grid and led to the deaths of more than 200 people.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves bill that would create mandatory prison or probation terms for some gun crimes
Sen. Joan Huffman said the bill was in response to increased violent crime since 2019. Legislative researchers could not determine how the bill would affect the state’s prison population. Full Story
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![A handgun with a magazine which holds 17 rounds is displayed by an employee of McBride’s Guns in Central Austin on April 20, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate votes to defund libraries where drag queens read to kids as it tries to limit the performances kids can attend
The Senate expanded the bill targeting drag queen story hours to target all public funding for libraries. The upper chamber also approved a bill limiting other drag performances kids can see. Full Story
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![Drag queen Nadine Hughes performs in the Capitol Rotunda during the Youth Capitol Takeover on Mar. 29, 2023.]()
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Bill intended to force Texas prosecutors to pursue abortion, election cases passes Senate
The bill, a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a larger effort to limit the power of elected prosecutors, especially in Texas’ largest, left-leaning counties. Full Story
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![The Travis County Justice Complex on July 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Family of dead National Guardsman urges Legislature to make bill named for him retroactive
While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit. Full Story
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![Jo Ann Johnson sits for a portrait with a photo of her grandson, Bishop Evans, in her home in Arlington, TX on Dec. 7, 2022. 22-year-old Bishop Evans, who was serving on the Texas Army National Guard and assigned to work on Operation Lone Star, died after jumping into the Rio Grande to save two migrants. “When they told me why, I understood, because he saw someone who needed help. That was who he was — he helped people.”]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott is turning up the pressure on passing school choice. Will it pay off?
Passage of a school choice measure is anything but a sure bet, as there is little evidence that the governor has been able to convince rural Republicans in the Texas House — who have for years been a reliable firewall — to drop their opposition. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Parent Empowerment Night at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi on Jan. 31, 2023 to discuss parent empowerment and choice in their child's education.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Bills to expand gambling access in Texas clear House committee
Gaming advocates are pushing to legalize casinos and sports betting in Texas. The committee votes represent more progress than the proposals made last legislative session, when they got hearings in committee but were never voted out. Full Story
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![Gene Koonce plays on a craps table fitted with protective plexiglass panels during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, closed since March because of COVID-19. Las Vegas, Nevada on June 4, 2020.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Steve Marcus